INDIAN SOCIETY: TRIBAL, RURAL

AND URBAN
Indian society has been broadly divided into tribal, rural and urban societies on
the basis of their geographical smroundings and charncteristics. Tribals
live in relative isolation IIIl!lked with distinct culture, language and religion. In the
contemporary world, they are considered to be socio-economically backward.
On the other hand, rural societies are village societies, which are mainly based on
caste, attachment to the past, as well as having agricultural economy. Urban
society is based on non-agricultural occupations like the industries and the service
sector. However, there has been a continuous interaction between these three
kinds of societies and we can not put them into watertight compartments.
After reading this lesson, you will be able to:
explain the characteristics of tribal society;
analyse changes among tribal societies;
identifY the tribal problems and know about the development measures being
caried out for them;
recognise the characteristics of village societies;
explain changes taking place in village communities;
explain the meaning and characteristics of urban society; and
analyse the linkages between rural and urban societies.
MODULE-IV
Indian Society
Notes

MODULE- IV "'"' Indian Tribal, Rural antll rban
Indian Society
26.1 TRIBAL SOCIETY
A tribe can be defined as a community living in hilly forest or well demarcated
areas having its own culture, religion, language, and strong ethnic identity.
otes Anthropologists have explained tribe as a social group with territorial affiliation,
endogamous in nature; with no specialization of functions, ruled by tribal chiefs,
hereditary or otherwise, united in language or dialect, recognizing social distance
>
with other tribes or castes, followingt.ribdtraditions. beliefs and customs, conscious
oftheirethnic and tenitorial homogenlty. '
26.1.1. of Tribal Society
From the above definition, we may list the fullowing characteristics of tribal society.
0 They have usually a well-demarcated geographical territory.
il) Generally they live in forests or hilly areas.
iii) Their territory is relatively isolated or semi-isolated compared to other social
grollfl
iv) They have their own culture, fOlklore, cosmology and belief system.
v) Economically they are self-sufficient, i.e. their economy is based on
subsistence level where there is no concept ofswplus. They cling to primitive
technology. They lack monetary economy. Their economy is dependent on
barter exchange.
Vi) They are more interested in earning their todays need and do not bother
about their future requirements.
w) They have their own language; generally do not have any script.
They have their own political system, i.e. both stateless and state. Earlier
they had stateless system, i.e. without any tribal chief. They manage their law
and order system through family and kinship ties. Later on, came the state
system, whentribalsnominatedorelectedtheirownchiefs. Today,ofcourse
this autonomy has been lost and they have become part of the local
administration.
ix) Tribal societies are known as simple societies becatisetheir social relationships
are primarily based on fumily and kinship ties. Besides they do not have any
rigid social stratification.
x) They have their own religion, i.e. having their own deities( gods and
goddesses) and belief system. Their forms of religion are known as animism
(worshipping the soul or ancestors), animalism (worshipping any non-living
body like stone or wood), totemism (worshipping a tree or any animal as the
lntl1an Sodet): friba!. Rural and l rhan :,
fmmding ancestor), and naturism (worshipping objects of nature like river,
stream, sun ,moon,forest, etc.).
XI) They have a sense ofbelongingness to their own community, they feel that
they are the sons of the soil and hence they have a strong ethnic identity.
Fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the brackets.
(i) Tribal communities live mostly in _______ areas (hilly, urban,,
industrial)
(n) Economy of the tribals is found at ____ level (advanced, developing,
primitive).
(m) Tribalshave _____ religion(theirown,Hindu,Christian).
(w) Tribal society have form of inequality (intensive, little,
moderate)

26.1.2 Distribution of Tribal Communities in India
There are about 461 tribes found in India distributed throughout the country. Their
population is about 8.1 crores according to the census 200 I of India (constituting
to 8.1% of total population). Their distributions can be broadly divided into the
following five regions.
Region Major Tribes
North East, Sikkirn and Himalayas Naga, Mizo, Adi, Lepcha, Gaddr,
Khasi, Garo, Jaintia, Raji, Bhotia,
Tharu
Western
Central
South
Island Communities
SOCIOLOGY
Seberia, Bhil, Girisia, Rebari, Dang,
Mina, Worli
Munda, Oraon, Santhal, Gond, Ho,
Chenchu, Bhumij, Birhor, Kondh,
Saora, Poroja
lrula, T oda, Badaga, Paliyan,
Cholanaicken
Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge,
Sentinnclose, Shompen,
Nicobarese
Table 26.1: Distribution ofTribes

Indi11n Society
.we
MODULE-IV
Indian Society
,.---N:-;--ot,_.e-s--1
, Indian Rural and{ rhan
Population-wise Gonds arefound highest in number (about 81akhs), followed by
Bhils (about 7.5lakhs ), Santhal (about Slakhs ), Mina (about 2.21akhs) lind Omon
(about 2lakhs). The lowest number among them are the Jamwa (about 50),
Onges (about I 00), Andamanese (about 150), and Arandan (about 250).
26.1.3 Linguistic Classification Among Tribes in India
Most of the tribal communities speak non-Aryan language which are divided into
four linguistic families: Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Chinese, Dravidian and Indo-
Etiropean.
Linguistic Family
Austro-Asiatic
Tibeto-Chinese
Dmvidian
Indo-European
Major Tribal Languages
Khasi, Nicobari, Santhali, Ho, Mundari
Bhotia, Lepcha, Abor, Miri, Dafla, Garo, Naga,
Lushai
Korwa, Badaga, Toda, Kota, Kui (by Kondh),
Gondi, Maler, Omon
Hajong, Bhili
Table 26.2: Linguistic Distribution of Tribes
Write short answers:
(i) Namefivernajortribesof India?
(ii) Name one major tribe who speaks the dmvidian language.
(Iii) Where are the Onges found?
(iv) Name three tribes ofWestem region.
26.1.4 Tribal Social Structure and Stratification
Most of the tribes are patrilineal and patriarchal in nature, like the Kondhs of
Orissa, SanthalsofWest Bengal and Bihar, Bhils of Madhya Pradesh. Patriliny
means inheritance of property, authority, residence, and line of descent is passed
from the father to the son. In these societies male dominance is found. However,
extreme patriliny is not found among them today. Compared with the non-tn"bal
communities in India, the tribals have greater equality among the sexes. In
absence of ingustrial economy and formal structure, the tn"bal social structure is
based on kinship groups like clans, lineages and families. Sometn"bal commtmities
are matriarchal, also such as Garo and Khasi of Megbalaya. Initially, social
stratification was notmarlred among them. There used to be broadly two dMsions: ;I
the ruling clans and others. Economically they are termed as an egalitarian society.
Later on due to contact with outsiders and non-tribals some forms ofinll(Jtuality I
are apparently noticed.
- 26.1.5 Tribal Problems
Certain types of tribal problems emerged with their contact with outsiders. Before
the Muslim rule, the tribals lived fairly in isolation. During Muslim rule the proc:ess
of revenue collection started. However, the Muslim rulers did not intc:rfere vvith.
the tribal customs and traditions. Exploitative contact started during the Briltish;l
rule. This was found mainly because of three reasons:
(a) TheBritishers wanted to ruleoverthetribals_
(b) They wanted to syphon off resources from tribal areas, which were rich in
mineral resources.
(c) They wanted to preach Christianity Wlder the pretext of rationality.
Cultural contact came into being because of the following reasons:
.(a) Existence of mineral resources in the tribal areas
(b) Entry of administrators and missionaries into tribal areas.
(c) Entry of speci8lists like medicine man, agents and vendors into the tribal areas.
(d) Development of transport and communication in the tribal areas, which
facilitated the entry of outsiders.
(e) Displacement of tribal population from their traditional habitat due to
construction ofindustries and hydro- electricity and irrigation projects.
In this llllllllleJf most of the tribal problems have emerged due to cultural contact
There are several tribal problems, which are as follows:
a. Land alienation caused due to the introduction of monetary economy. For
every consumption need, thetribals needed money, but did not have any source
of earning. They mortgaged land or sold itoffland. -Besides, outsiders exploited
MODULE-
'
lndL1n ....,I!Utl\ I: !L,tL :<'tJr d nll 1 h.!ll
llldliul
. ' -
them and grabbed away their land. Fwther industrialisation also resulted into
acquisition ofland by the state. Various State govenunents have passed several
acts to abolish transfer or sale of tribal land to non-tribals.
b. ladebtedaCIS cropped in due to lack of adequate sources ofincorne. Private
moneylenders (like mahajan or sahukar) are readily available in tribal areas.
1bey provided personal loan on heavy raty of interest. The conswnption
pat1ans oftbe tribals include regular consumption ofliquor, bride price during
ll.liiiTiageandfineforanydeviant behaviour. All these require money. Hence
they go to the moneylender. In this manner they are heavily in debt. Effective
measures have been taken by various State governments to curb the entry of
sahukDrs into the tribal areas and arrangements have been made to secure
loans on nominal rate of interest from the banks and co-operative societies.
e. Bonded labour is a serious problem, which came in due to rampant poverty
and lack of stable income. In fact, land alienation, indebtedness; bonded labour
and poverty are inter-related problems.
Lack of money leads to taking loan from money lender by mortgaging land.
The tribal community is unable to repay, hence serves as a bonded labourer.
d. Shifting cultivation among tribal is a problem since it involves large-scale
deforestation. Shifting cultivation is !mown by various names such as Swidden
and bwn)cultivation, .!hum (in the North East Tribes), Khqllu (among
MalerofBihar),andPodu(amongKhondsandParajasofOrissa).
Shifting cultivation involves clearing of a plot, usually in hilly or terrace area,
i.e. cutting plants & shrubs and then broadcasting (sprinkling) seeds (usually
ofad)ar,maize,bajraandbarbati(beans).ltdoesnotinvolveploughcultivation.
The area is cultivated for one or two years and then is left hallow for five to
seven years to allow the vegetatiuon to grow densely and to repeat the cycle
e. Illiteracy among tribals is a major hindrance towards their development.
On account of inaccessible habitat among tribals, education has not spread
lilstamongthem. Theschooltimingsusuallyclashwiththetimingsofeconomic
andagriculturaloperations. Ho-.vever,severalprogrammeshavebeenlaunched
to povidc educational access by establishing a primary school within a radius
of one kilometer.
r. Problem ofhealth and nutrition among the tribals has been found mainly
due to lack of poper medical and sanitaly facilities and poverty. Their practice
of indigenous medicine and magical practices for treatments have been very
good in the past. But today things have changed considerably. Disease range
behlreen dianbea,jaundice, small pox, malaria, filaria to AIDS, heart aibnents
and hypertension etc. They require propertrealrnenl in well-equipped hospitals

lll<li.lll """"''' l!ih.t!, Rural.tntll rh.m ;;,
or dispensaries.Efforts are being made to establish primary health centres in
eve!)' village.
Write short answers:
(i) What is the chief cause ofland alienation among tribes?
(n) Whatisshiftingcultivation?
(w) Why the tribals have less interest in fonnal education?
(iv) What is the cause ofbonded labour among the tribals?
26.2 Rl R.\L SOCIE 1\
Rural society means society that lives in village, and is dependent on natural
environment Rural ecooomy rests predominantly on agriculture and allied activities.
These societies have a low density of population, intimate group relationships and
have mal traditions. Rural societies are rich in culture and tradition. However,
fiom thecontemponu.y point of view, they are considered to be socio-economically
less developed. Therefore, several development activities have been undertaken
in our country to improve their socio-economic conditions.
26.2.1 Characteristics of Rural Societies
The village comrnmity has the following chamcteristics.
(i) Agriculture'is the predominant occupation among them. It is not the only
source ofincome but also the way oflife for the villagers.
(n) The village community is small in size. It means they live in small geographical
areas with lower density of population as compared to the towns.
(w) They have primary group behaviour, i.e. face-to-face relationship is found
among the meml;;;rs of the village.
(iv) Their social structure is based on kinship and family relationships. Here the
role oflineage ( V ansh) is very important.
(v) Mostly they live in joint family. A joint family is a group of people who live
under one roof, eat food cooked at one hearth, have joint property, participate
in common worship and are linked to each other through kinship ties. The
joint family has a greater generation bondage than the nuclear family.
MODULE-'IV
lndilm Sockly
Notes

MODULE- " lndi:m Sou d): ltth.al. Rural.lllu l 1 b.tn
Indilur Soclretyl
(Vi) They are more conservative and tradition oriented towards the performance
of rituals as well as belief in deities.
(vit) Group feeling and mutual cooperation is more evident among them. They
_ have a brotherhood feeling. They co-operate with each other in times of
exigencies.
(viii) Their culture is also knomt as folk culture, i.e. consisting of customs, rituals
and nonns, etc. which are unwritten, but orally transmitted and learned. Since
they have a common socio-economic background, they do not have
differences in ideology towards life. Hence they are homogenous in nature.
(ix) Traditionally,theireconomyis basedonagriculturehavingprimitivetechnology
and mon<H:ropping pattern. It was less productive. Lack of proper ll1lllketing
facilities and introduction of monetary economy has resulted in poverty.
Further, decline in cottage industries has pushed them to migrate to
neighbouring towns.
(x) Village India is largely based on caste system, which has a hierarchical (castes
are ranked according to their purity and pollution.theirreligious customs and .
practices and the nature of their occupation) base. For example, Brahmins
are ranked as highest one because they do the purest occupation of performing
rituals and teaching, whereas, shudras is ranked lowest because ofhis impure
of working as scavengers . They follow the above hierarchical
system intensely.
(Xi) Modem way ofliving and thinking (based on achievement of the individual
and their rational thinking) is lacking in rural society. They still follow the
ascriptive model oflife, hence their mobility is restricted.
(xit) Any deviant behaviour is dealt with strictness in the rural areas.
(xiil) Since modern technology has not gained firm ground in rural areas, people
are still following the age-old methods of cultivation as well as solving the
. related day-to-day problems. It involves hard work' throughout the day as it
is a labour intensive occupation.
(xiv) They have a relatively self-sufficient economy particularly in terms of
production and consumption .
. (xv) They have a static economy, since they lack modern technology, modes of
investment and a 1118lket economy.
(XVI) They cling to conseJVative and traditional style ofliving: They have a strong
tradition and is knomt as the little tradition. Their attachment to the past is
strong.
Indian Smiel): Trihtl, Rural and l'rhan '!!'
Fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the brackets:
(i) Rural areas are dominated by ____ occupation (agricultural, industrial,
professional).
(ii) Villages bave ____ .density of population (higher, lower, moderate).
(iii) Village economy is (developed, less developed, primitive).
(iv) Indian villages have system (caste, class, estate).
26.2.2 The Indian Village Community: As a Social Unit
British administrators held that village C\)mmunities in India are like little republics.
It means they have every thing they want within themselves, and they are not
dependent on outsiders for their existence. But this has been proved to be a myth
by Indian sociologists after the scientific study oflndian villages. Village in India is
an integrated unit. There have been inter-connections and inter-dependence
between villages on socio-economic and religious terms since ages. A study of
Haryana village indicated that at least 300 villages are linked through marriage
ties. Several consumption items like salt, edible oil, various tools cloth and jewellery
were not produced in every village. All types of services were not available in
every village.
Besides, for political purposes villages were always a part of some kingdom ,feudal
lords and used to pay revenue to the king. Further, various cultural and the pilgrim
centres have attracted people to travel throughout the country. For example, the
Char Dham concept of Hindus for attainment of Moksha by people has been
popular. Besides, trade practices have linked the villages with world. Therefore,
we cannot say that villages are in isolation, but they were always a part of the
larger society.
26.2.3 Changes in Rural Society
After independence, the community development progranune was started in 1952.
It meant an all round development ,of village communities. The involvement and
participation of community was the main aim. Later on in 1959 Panchayati Raj
(Local SelfGovt.) was started. Both the programmes are running successfully
even today. However, Integrated Rural Development Programme has replaced
the Community Development Progranune in 1979.
The rural and urban societies have a continuous interaction among them. The
MODULE-IV
Indian Sockty
Notes

MODULE-IV
Indilln Society
, ', ; Indian Sol'J<!l\: I nhal, Hural and t rban
villager visits the urban areas and comes into contact with the urban people. Some
urban culture enters into the villages. Gradually some sense ofheterogeneity
becomes inupinent in the rural areas by urban influence. It is said that Indian cities
have retained some of the rural characteristics. Primaty food and rawmaterial are
supplied by the villages to the towns, hence both have relationship
dependence . Thus it is termed as rural urban continuum (continuous interaction).
Construction of roads and transportation have brought about lot of social and
economic changes e.g. Caste System is weakening. Now, there is more mobility
and it is becoming cash market from barter system etc.
26.3 L'RBA:'Ii
Urban society includes the tovms, cities and metros with a specific way oflife. An
urbansocietycanbedefinedasanareahavinghigherdensityofpopulation,people
engaging mostly in occupations other than agriculture and domestication of animals,
having a distinct ecology and culture different from that of the large society's
culture.
26.3.1 Characteristics of Urban Society
Url>an societies have the following characteristics:
a. The cities and towns have a higher density of population than the rural areas.
b. Cultural heterogeneity is found in the urban areas because people from various
areas having different cultores migrate to the towns in search of employment,
education and medical and health care.
c. Cities have a distinct environment that is not'natural but a man made
enviromnent.
d. The occupation of the urban areas is mainly non-agricultun\1, i.e. based on-
manufacturing, trade & commerce, professional and governance, etc.
e. In urban areas more social mobility is found iri the sellSe people gradually
adapt to class structure (lower, middle or upper class based on
criteria).
f Fonnal social control is found in the urban areas in the form of courts, police
and other administrative bodies.
g. In urban areas interaction among people is based on secondary contactand
not primary contact. It means face-to-face and individual to individual
interaction is not possible in the urban areas.
h. People in the cities have an urban way oflife. Which means they have

interaction, impersonal behaviour, non-kinship relationships, cultural
exlnbitionism, passing leisure time in clubs, paxks, restaurants, cinema balls or
markets.
MODULE-IV
Indian Society
L based oniiilllketandmonetary economy.
j. Civic facilities like roads, electricity, water, communication, park, hotels and
cinemas, etc. are found in urban areas.
k. Anonymity isafeatureofurban societies. It means people donotknoweach
other in the city as in the villages.
Fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the brackets:
(i) Urban societies have mostly __ occupation (agricultural, priestly, non-
agricultural).
(it) is the important feature of the urban societies (personal
contact, anonymity, kinship).
(m) Urhansocietieshave __ economy(monetary,agricultural,barter).
(iv) In urban areas people have cultural ___ (homogeneity, heterogeneity,
plurnlism.).
26.3.2 India's Urban Communities
In India the urban area has the following Characteristics:
a. AnareahavingoorneurbanadministrativeunitlikeaMunicipality,Metropolitan
Council, Notified Area Council or Cantonment Board, etc.
b. An area having more than 10000 population.
c. 75% of population engaging in non-agricultural occupation.
d. Should have a density of 1000 persons per sq. mile.
e. Having some urban amenities like an industrial area, a large housing settlement,
having centre of entertainment and tourist importance or having some civic
amenities.
On the basis of population, India has the following types of cities:
________________________________________
MODULE-
Indian S01:ie1J1l
L:: Jndi,m Snell'!\: I nh.1L J{ural.md l rhan
"" '*'-
Nomenclature Population
Metro 10,00,000+
Class I City 1,00,000+
Class II Town 50,000+
Class III Town 20,000+
Class IV Town 10,000+
Tablel6.3: Types af cities in India
26.3.3 Urban Social Problems
Urban society has several social problems such as congestion of population, shnns,
crime, and acute shortage of resources and facilities (such as water, electricity).
Certain problems emerge from anonymity in cities, where personal relation and
primary group have broken down. It causes tremendous mental pressure and
tension. That is why; psychological ailments are numerous in cities. Because of
large migration to cities unemployment is found in large number in tl"!e urban
areas. This happens due to push and j)llil factors . This causes a lot of frustration
among the people.
Push factor means that lack ofi!IIlployment in the villages pushes the villagers to
the towns in search of jobs. Pull fuctor means the relatives in the town invite their
close people and try to give them jobs. Besides, the entertainment aspect of urban
life attracts or puJ!s the people to the towns.
The migrants in the cities do not have a respectable place to stay. They generally
settle down as clusters on the outskirts of the cities. These clusters grow into
sl urns. Their conditions detonate from bad to worse with the passage of time.
There is a high incidence-of crime in the cities. It is mainly found because of
unemployment, and frustration among the youth and also due to the large density
of population.
Write short answers.
(i) Whatistheminimumpopulationofametro?

Jpr!ian l nh.tl, J{uralantll rhan ;;.
(li) Why some people in urban areas have mental problems?
(m) What is push :factor of migration?
(iv) Whatisthecauseofunemploymentinurbanareas?
In this lesson you have learnt about the tribal, rural and urban communities of
India, particularly in terms of their co-existence.
These three societies are found in India with perfuct cohesion, inter-dependence
and cooperation.
The tribal and rural societies are relatively economically backward than the
urban societies.
However, through various economic development programmes their socio-
economic status is being improved upon.
These societies have a distinct culture with a natural environment
People from urban areas usually miss the simplicity and non-polluting
environment of the rural areas.
The cities oflndia have attracted people from through out the country as well
as abroad bc;cause of the distinctive civilization.
However, because of the large density of population and heavy migration
from: rural areas, some problems like unemployment and growing slums have
occurred in the cities.
I. Why tribal societies are called simple societies?
2. Pescribethemajortrialproblems inlndia.
3. What are the main criteria of an urban area in India?
4. Describe briefly the changes that have taken place in rural society after
independence.
MODULE-IV
Indian Society
Notes

MODULE-IV
'';;_
'
*];.,, lndt.IJlSol:ll'f\: inh.d.l<ul.il.tll.Jl . J b ~ o ~
3h ' -
Indian Society
5. Describe briefly urban social problems in India.
Notes
26.1 (i) lilly (u)
B ~
(m) Their own (iv) Uttle
26.2 (i) Bbil
(D) Kond
(m) Andamanlsland
(IV) Mina, Rebari, Dang
26.3 (i) monetary economy
(n) Cultivating without plough in a terrace by clearing the plot.
(m) Because 1he syllabi and time is not according to 1heir culture and
need.
(IV) Lack of money
26.4 (i) agricultmal
(n) Lov;er
(m) Less developed
(iv) Caste
26.5 (i) non-agricultural
(n) mxnymity
(m) monetary
(IV) heterogeneity
26.6 (i) 10,00,000
(n) Brealcing down of primary group behaviour.
(m) Poverty in villages pushes one to town in search of employment.
(IV) Heavy population.
-':
SOCIOLOGY